Restore Hope for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children

Rose is a 16 year old girl with partial hearing impairment right from her birth. She had been home without going to school for the last 2 years as her father did not consider it important to take her for education given her disability. ''My father calls me a lunatic'', so he does not value me being in school. ''I have a striong desire to be in school and become a teacher so that I can teach other children like me''.  Rose was excited when we registered her for school and on her first day in class she could not help but to write on the chalk board to express her excitement. ''I had lost hope of education, I knew my dreams to become a teacher for deaf children was dead''. She was grateful that we came a long with her to support her with whatever she needed to enrol in school again. Because of being at home for too long, Rose was enrolled back to Primary Four (P.4) at Katakwi Primary School.

Rose is among the 10 children with hearing impairment that we are currently enrolling in school in Katakwi District. Children with hearing impairment face lots of discrimination fromfamily, friends and community as they are generaly considered dense. Rose lost her mother while still 5 years and has been living with her father together with 3 other siblings. She is the second born child. Unfrotunately because of her disability, her father decided not to educate her but take other  siblings to school. Her role has been to keep the home and prepare food for other siblings who are at school.

Like those with other disabilities, children with hearing impairment are considered a curse and therefore highly neglected among many communities nto just in Katakwi but in most parts of Uganda.